Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. be entitled to
    • ex. VIP members are entitled to watch exclusive shows for free.
  2. time off
    • ex. My sister is taking time off to prepare for her wedding.
  3. a caregiver
    • ex. She is the caregiver for her sick grandmother every Saturday.
  4. ailing
    • ex. He visited his ailing friend in the hospital.
  5. occur
    • ex. The team meeting with the new manager will occur tomorrow morning.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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AT&T management employees are entitled to additional time off to take care of their loved ones. This gives caregivers up to 15 days of vacation each year to care for ailing family members. The good thing is that it doesn’t affect their vacation or personal sick days. In the U.S., paid time off for caregivers is rare. There is no law for employers to give paid sick or family leave.

Many AT&T employees said it was difficult to manage family life. Aside from working, they are also caring for their parents and children. So in 2021, the company decided to offer additional leave to caregivers. This is to help its management employees manage easily their personal and professional lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Juli Galloway, AT&T Vice President of Global Benefits, the company was worried that the paid time off might be used too much. But that wasn’t the case. She said her fears didn’t occur. AT&T has had it for two and a half years. According to their data, about 15% of its management employees have taken some caregiver time off. And that the average number of days taken has been 4.1.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Time Off/Leave

  • In your opinion, is time off important? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • What kind of paid time off should employees be entitled to (ex. leave for caregivers, sick leave)? Why? Discuss.
  • Imagine there’s no limit on the number of days of paid time off. How would you use it? Why? Discuss.

Caregiver Leave

  • Why do you think AT&T gave caregiver leave to its employees? Discuss.
  • What do you think is the impact of the caregiver leave to AT&T (ex. employees are happy, the business becomes slow)? Discuss.
  • Imagine that your company gives caregiver leave. Would you you like to have that benefit? Why or why not? Discuss.